At Meta Connect 2025, held September 17–18, the company shifted gears from futuristic metaverse promises to products you can actually use today. Mark Zuckerberg set the tone, describing this year’s event as “entirely glasses-focused.” The spotlight confirmed it—Meta made AI-powered smart glasses the star of its strategy, supported by new entertainment and developer tools.
Here’s everything you need to know from the event.
Meta Ray-Ban Display + Meta Neural Band
The Meta Ray-Ban Display, codenamed Hypernova, is Meta’s first consumer smart glasses with a built-in color display. Instead of diving straight into heavy, high-end AR headsets, Meta is introducing a middle ground—stylish frames with a heads-up display that feels practical today while laying the groundwork for more advanced AR later.
Paired with the new Meta Neural Band, a wrist-worn bracelet that detects subtle finger movements, you can control the glasses through pinches, swipes, or even mimed handwriting.
Key Specs:
- Mini display at 42 pixels per degree, 5,000 nits brightness
- 12MP camera with 3X zoom
- Six microphones and open-ear speakers
- Six hours of use (charging case adds 30 hours)
- Neural Band: 18-hour battery, IPX7 water resistance
Price & Availability: $799 bundled with the Neural Band, available September 30 in the US. Global rollout begins early 2026 in Canada, France, Italy, and the UK.
Oakley Meta Vanguard
For athletes, Meta launched the Oakley Meta Vanguard, designed with fitness and performance in mind. The glasses come in Oakley’s trademark wraparound design with IP67 sweat and dust resistance.
Highlights:
- Integration with Garmin and Strava for live workout stats
- Automatic video capture when you hit milestones
- 12MP wide-angle camera with 3K stabilised video
- Louder open-ear speakers and wind-resistant microphones
Price & Availability: $499, pre-orders open now, shipping October 21.
Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2
The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 builds on the success of the first generation while addressing its biggest weaknesses: short battery life and average camera performance.
Upgrades:
- Battery life up to 8 hours, with a case offering 48 more
- 12MP wide-angle camera with 3K Ultra HD video at 60fps
- 32GB local storage, IPX4 water resistance
- New AI features: live translation, Conversation Focus, Hyperlapse, Slow Motion
Price & Availability: Starts at $379, launched September 17 in the US, Canada, and UK. Mexico, India, and Brazil will follow later in 2025.
Horizon TV
Meta also revealed Horizon TV, a new entertainment hub for Quest headsets. It brings streaming apps like Disney+, Prime Video, Hulu, YouTube, and Twitch into one place, plus special 3D movies with spatial effects. It already supports Dolby Atmos, with Dolby Vision coming soon.
Hyperscape Capture
Quest 3 and 3S owners will gain access to Hyperscape Capture, an app that scans your surroundings and transforms them into interactive digital worlds within minutes. It’s designed to make mixed reality content creation easier for everyday users.
Horizon Engine
Meta unveiled the Horizon Engine, its own game engine that replaces Unity for its metaverse platform. With AI-assisted tools for creating VR spaces and support for up to 100 people in a single virtual room, Meta is giving developers more control over content creation inside its ecosystem.
Key Products at a Glance – Meta Connect 2025
| Product | Price | Main Features | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Ray-Ban Display + Neural Band | $799 | Color display in-lens, 12MP camera, gesture controls via Neural Band, 6 mics, 6hrs use | Sept 30 (US), early 2026 (global rollout) |
| Oakley Meta Vanguard | $499 | Fitness-focused, IP67 water/dust resistant, Garmin & Strava integration, auto workout video capture | Pre-orders open, shipping Oct 21 |
| Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 | $379 | 8-hour battery, 12MP camera, 3K Ultra HD video, AI translation, conversation focus | Launched Sept 17 (US, Canada, UK), other regions late 2025 |
| Horizon TV | N/A | Entertainment hub with Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube, Twitch, 3D spatial movies, Dolby Atmos/Vision | Coming soon on Quest headsets |
| Hyperscape Capture | N/A | Creates mixed reality spaces from real-world scans in minutes | Rolling out to Quest 3 and 3S |
| Horizon Engine | N/A | New AI-powered game engine for VR, supports up to 100 users in a single world | Developer rollout in 2025 |
While Meta has not yet announced specific release dates for Africa, Ghanaian consumers are likely to access the Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 first, given its global tiered rollout and lower entry price. At current exchange rates, $379 translates to around GH¢5,400, while the higher-end Ray-Ban Display at $799 could retail above GH¢11,500 when it eventually launches.
Availability may be limited initially to grey market imports and international retailers, but as Meta expands global distribution, Ghana’s growing tech-savvy audience will be a natural target. For businesses, the Horizon Engine and Hyperscape Capture also open opportunities for local developers to build immersive experiences with global reach.
Meta Connect 2025 underlined one message—AI-powered smart glasses are the future of Meta hardware. By offering products that are stylish, functional, and available now, Meta is laying the foundation for broader adoption of wearables and AR
